The Cards Speak

OK, that is a rule used in casinos everywhere. On another level it is a pile of fertilizer. And we certainly use it from blog to blog to grow our view on the fairness of life, poker, and the voting on reality shows.

I'm feeling set up by the cards too – at least for this moment. I haven't won my little tournament in over a week. What the cards said to my tables about me hasn't been overly kind.

That may sound like bitching but it isn't. It is simple fact. With it all said and done now, I still mostly persevered and lasted two hour or more. I make the last two tables with regularity. But, when the tipping point came it was a slide instead of the ladder.

By and large, I controlled what the cards said. That isn't about my particular skills nearly as much as understanding the skills of those around me. One of my petty enjoyments is watching the lobby info and seeing who goes out when. Because it is a small tournament, I recognize quite a few of the regular players. And, at this point I can provide a list of those who will cluster to the list of early outs.

Many of them try to speak above the speech of the cards. They get an insignificant card on an early street and try to take control. What comes out is more babble than speech. These are the group that I mentioned. Poker speech is more two-part harmony than regular speech. You and the cards sing together – not in opposition.

The reason I'm playing this tournament and the reason I see my limited success is being the better ventriloquist. My lips don't move while so many can't avoid giving away repetitious lip movement.

This tournament provides a huge comfort level. I can only remember one other regular tournament that did that. It was a Hold'em rebuy of all things. Again, fairly small. It always started with an overlay that was always taken out by those rebuying. I'd watch people rebuy to the point they had to do better than the final table to just break even.

When you can find these little environments, you can have a voice that exceeds that of the cards. The thing is most of us play when we can or wish based on external factors. So, you play happens here and there. Big sites also make it harder to build background. But if or when you find such a situation, you are better than your normal skill set.

With a little work, one can find situations that give a bit of an edge. That's true across the spectrum. Ring and SnGs also have their better situations that add a comfort level to our play. Looking harder for the +EV situations is … well … +EV. With that duh, going looking with the thought in mind.

ADDENDUM:

I've captured a few hands. Nothing unusual in the group. But, they do provide a lot of information. This is a bit of what I'm talking about.

It’d be more helpful with the circumstances of what the big bet was and stack and all. But each one does tell a little tale of its own about Stud 8 or Better. If they are too small, click to enlarge.